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From one of your “tens of devoted fans”:
Loved this podcast! You guys are so cute!

Like I warned you, I have lots of observations about things you said, so I’m just going to share them and you of course can take it or leave it. Which, by the way, is my advice about taking advice – that is, listen to what makes sense for you and file the rest for when you need a laugh later.
Hiccups: ALL my babies had frequent bouts of hiccups in utero, but only some of them had hiccups after birth. It will be fun to hear what happens with your little one.
Crib mattress: Get it now so you can let it breathe before baby uses it.
Car seat: Our car seat has a base to buckle it in, but it doesn’t have to have the base. We can put the seat belt right across the seat itself if we need to put it into a different car without moving the base. Not as easy, but saves money vs. buying another base. The convertible car seat we have never worked well until baby had good head control. If you have to travel any distance without anyone (who isn’t the driver) able to check on the baby, get one of those mirrors that sticks to your back window. You can place it so you can see it from the corner of your rear-view mirror so you don’t have to try to crane around to see the baby while driving into a parked car or light pole.*
Changing table: We just use a waterproof changing pad on the bed. In one home we used a microwave table softened with an old beach towel and the changing pad on that. Just use common sense. Be careful when baby is up high to avoid falls. And watch out for fountains.
Recliner: Excellent choice. More comfy for when you fall asleep while nursing. With #3 I found it more comfortable than the bed during my last few weeks of pregnancy.
Delivery: If they let you, getting out of bed and letting gravity help is sometimes a good thing. So are heating pads on your back. Sometimes. And sometimes keeping your eyes open against the reflex to squeeze them tightly closed helps.
Classes: I think a class experience just depends on the teacher. Hearing you talk about it reminded me of college. If you want videos with other points of view you can probably find a few at the public library.
Pumping: My SIL Annette pumped while working, and I’m sure she would share any tips she learned from her experience.
Happiest Baby on the Block: Most (we didn’t have a swing) of the “S”s worked really well for one of my kids (#4). But, for example, they didn’t all like a pacifier. And current baby only liked swaddling for about 3 weeks.
Breastfeeding: Each of my kids was different. All of them were painful for the first few weeks, but that was me – not necessarily what will happen for you. Each of my babies had a different latch. Doing it the “right” way didn’t happen for all of them and yet somehow none of them went hungry. Lansinoh was sometimes helpful, a good bra, good nursing pads, sometimes a Boppy, and Tylenol for cramping. The hospital will probably offer you coaching starting with your first feeding, but some nurses/consultants/La Leche League people can get rather religious about their techniques so if you don’t click with one person, see if you can get another opinion. Most nurses are great, but I have had babies in four different hospitals with 5 different doctors and sometimes you will just need to stand up for yourself, often against the “that’s the way it’s always been done” sort of thing. I didn’t usually see my doctor much after delivery – the nurses will make or break your postpartum experience.
Diapers: For size one we used the nice expensive Pampers. Then we switched to the Parent’s Choice Wal-Mart brand, which are nicer IMO than other store brands, and don’t have that strong baby powder smell. In my experience they also leak less than Luvs or Huggies.
Stuff: Miles, be prepared for a couple of trips to carry stuff out of the hospital when it’s time to take Holli and baby home. We usually end up with lots of paperwork, a couple of complementary diaper bags (full of freebie samples), flowers, balloons, camera, suitcase, etc. And then there’s the baby! It also can take a long time to go through the hospital’s check-out process, so be ready for that.